Spotting a killer doctor 'would take months'

It would take a hospital in the UK at least eight months to spot a doctor who was routinely killing patients, a recent report has found.

Researchers at Papworth hospital, a specialist heart unit in Cambridge, found that monitoring systems at their own hospital would only pick up on an unusual, Harold Shipman-style pattern of deaths after eight months, by which time eight patients could have been killed.

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

In order to test security procedures, the researchers created a 'virtual Harold Shipman' by inserting a pattern of unexplained virtual deaths into the histories of one surgeon and one anaesthetist at the hospital.

They found that only after eight months  by which time the virtual Shipman had killed eight patients at the rate of one a month  would death rates creep above acceptable levels, alerting hospital staff.

MOST POPULAR

However, co-author of the report Mr Sam Nashef said that systems at the hospital were not specifically designed to catch serial killers, but were rather there to ensure that the quality of surgery was maintained.

"Papworth has established targets for patient survival after heart surgery, based on patient profiles and the operations performed," Mr Nashef said.

"It's these targets that would have been breached if the extra virtual deaths had actually occurred."

Harold Shipman was convicted of 15 murders of patients, although a government enquiry estimated that he was probably responsible for at least 236 deaths over a 24-year period.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.